User blog:RoninTheMasterless/Masterless (Arkham) Knight (There will be SPOILERS)
As the title warns, there will be spoilers here. This is going to tease my Masterless rewrite of Arkham Knight, but first, and editorial of why such a rewrite is taking place. Why Rewrite? First and foremost, because I love Batman, simple as that, but there's more. I have many problems with the story of Arkham Knight, both in plot devices, and even basic structure at some points. This is where the spoilers come in. The first and foremost plot device I hated was thew identity of the Arkham Knight, which is Jason Todd. Evidently Rocksteady and Geoff Johns are unaware of what "Original" means. I remember talking on chat before about my guess, which was Lonnie Machin (which in my opinion the game hints at gracefully, without a payoff), and I thought it sufficed as "original" since Lonnie has never been anything other than Anarky, and a minor villain. With Jason, Rocksteady's writers basically played the Under the Red Hood arc all over again, but with a different name, and some Battle for the Cowl undertones, which, while not bad, was disappointing. Another critical problem for me, was the death of Oracle (which I've heard is undone by the end somehow, but I've yet to beat the game, so I don't know for certain). She is kidnapped and killed by Arkham Knight and Scarecrow, they use Crane's new Fear Toxin to make her so afraid of Batman she shoots herself in the head. They had a strong character like Barbara Gordon, who overcame being crippled by the Joker, and tortured further into being unable of overcoming a Fear Toxing that even a random cop could sort of overcome. Another minor problem for me is Batman's insanity and full on asshole tendencies: he is hallucinating the Joker every few minutes, and hides Barbara's death from Tim (who's dating her, rather than the traditional Dick / Babs, for some reason, which is another problem for me personally), and somehow cannot express any emotion whatsoever to anyone at all. Update So evidently Barbara didn't die and it was Scarecrows gas that made you think otherwise. I'm happy to see her alive, but it's odd to me, since you can go back to where she "died" and her body is there, and your detective vision confirms it, which it didn't do when Gordon "died" in Asylum if I remember correctly (I could be wrong), so that's one problem sorta gone. Jason's arc is really rushed to me, and I didn't think I got the chance to feel it as much, nor did Troy Baker's voice suit Jason in my opinion. Batman is portrayed really good in my opinion, but I think they over emphasize his loner attitude and refuse to give as an Avengers style moment with the Batman Family; I mean think about how awesome it would have been at the very end, when instead of Scarecrow actually getting what he wants out of Batman, and Jason aides them when almost nothing could be done, instead, Robin get's free, Nightwing busted in, Jason came in, Cassandra Cain jumps in, Kate Kane glides in, and Barbara get's some armor that let's her walk again and she jumps in, and they all say "You don't mess with our family" or something of that nature. I'll answer for you, it would have been awesome. Also, since it's impossible for Batman to actually do all those missions and side-missions in 24 hours (let alone the 12 it seems to be done), wouldn't it be awesome if certain side missions were done by different Bat family members (e.g. Nightwing get's Penquin, Robin get's Professor Pyg, Red Hood get's Two-Face), freeing up Batman to do some of the side-missions that only he could do (e.g. Man-Bat, Riddler, possibly Firefly, etc) and give us more time with each character. I also plan to have Jason, Azrael, and possibly either Robin or Nightwing (probably Robin, because Nightwing never struck me as someone who wanted to be Batman) concurently have Batman Trails to see if they will become the next Batman. Bruce will retire with Selina, because rejecting her at the end makes no sense. While I'm on the subject of something not making sense, can someone explain to me why Batman is so convinced he can't be Batman, and that Gotham needs a new myth? I don't get it. It is just because his identity is revealed or does he just think that. I also may include characters that didn't return at all like Mister Freeze as an ally (who will most likely cure Batman just so that side-arc doesn't happen). The Three Jokers (Henceforth known as "Jokerz") will be Jason's Joker after he becomes Batman. Working Timeline *Arkham Origins **Cold Cold Heart **Flying Robin **Bat Got Your Tongue *A Matter of Family *Death In the Family *Arkham Asylum (Immediately follows Death in the Family, Batman apprehends Joker after Jason's death) **Lost Days **Under the Red Hood *Arkham City **Arkham Iconoclast *Arkham Knight Arkham Episodes Another critical disappointment for me was the the Arkham Episodes. The Red Hood and Harley Quinn "episodes" were 5-15 minutes (I beat the Red Hood one, which I awaited with great anticipation, in 5 minutes excluding cutscenes). The goal of the Masterless Arkhamverse will be to greatly expanded. I will also add my own original Episodes. Ideally, although I have no idea how I'll measure it, each episode is meant to be 2 - 5 hours or so. These are all set in the Arkham Knight engine, but take place at various times and places. Planned Episodes *''A Matter of Family: Set before a year before Arkham Asylum, play as both Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) and Jason Todd (Robin) as they try to save Barbara's father, as well as other cops. Also uncover the mystery of the derlict amusement park, and uncover a greater mystery too great for either of them. *Lost Days: Similar to the Initiation maps of Arkham Origins, play as Jason as he mimics a modified journey that his mentor took to become Batman several years prior. Should total about an hour. *Under The Red Hood: Set months before the events of Arkham City, play as the lost son of Batman, Jason Todd, in his rageful quest to become a better Batman than Bruce ever was. *Arkham Iconoclast: Inspired by the good ending for Azrael's side-mission in Arkham Knight and Bioshock Infinite, follow Jean-Paul Valley, Michael Lane's predecessor as Azrael as he questions the Order of Saint Dumas for the first time, with possibly fatal consequences. Who Get's Which Side-Mission Batman *Riddler (with Catwoman) *Azrael (Lane) (with Jean-Paul Valley) *Firefly *Man-Bat *Hush *Deathstroke (with Red Hood) *Penquin (with Nightwing) Nightwing *Penquin (with Batman) Robin *Professor Pyg (With Nightwing) *Deacon Blackfire (with Red Hood) Red Hood *Black Mask *Two-Face (Jason takes down Black Mask by himself and later meets up with Cassandra to take down Two-Face (on Batman's request). Bruce gave them Two-Face, because he wanted Jason to face a criminal who didn't deserve to be killed outright.) *Deacon Blackfire (with Robin) *Deathstroke (with Batman) Batwoman *Arkham Outposts Misc *Missing Firefighters Introducing the Masterless Arkham Knight Bat Family '"Did you really think you could eradicate the legend of the Batman? Batman is a part of every one of us, and it's a part of Gotham. You can't get rid of Batman, as long as someone, no matter how strong or weak, will stand up to you. We are Batman, and you're going to need a lot more than an army to get rid of us."' Bruce Wayne the World's Greatest Caped Crusading Dark Knight Detective.png|Bruce Wayne of course returns as Batman, and may or may not die early, or finish this as his swan song. Either way it ends with a new Batman JT Red Hood AE53 and E1939.png|Jason Todd makes his return in Masterless satory DLC. Shortly before AK takes place, Under the Red Hood takes place, but Bruce and Jason make amends by the end, and Jason stands by his long lost family against all of Gotham's Rogues, and the Bat-Ultron that is the AK. He would be voiced by either Jensen Ackles or Garret Hedlund, because, to me, Troy Baker sounded like a Robin (Either Dick or Tim) but not like Jason. RBG Nightwing AE-15.png|Richard Grayson aka Nightwing also aides Batman in his final crusade, focusing on Penquin's arms trading. BG Oracle Masterless AK.png|Oracle provides vital intel to Batman, Red Hood, Nightwing, and Red Robin. Tim Drake Masterless AK.jpg|Tim Drake will probably be Red Robin here. Cassandra as Black Bat E-53.jpg|Cassandra will make an appearance in secondary Red Hood DLC. Catwoman AE-9603.png|Selina Kyle is the love of Bruce's life. #Fuckoff Talia Arkham Knight Lonnie Machin as Arkham Knight.png|Lonnie Machin is the Arkham Knight. After Origins, he is sent to Juvie due to his youth. He is Tim's age, and eventually deduced that Tim was the third and final Robin around the same time he deduced Bruce Wayne was Batman. Lonnie spent years mimicking Bruce Wayne's journey to becoming Batman, and used Joker's death to rally the other villains into uniting to the single cause: Defeat the Batman. However, he plans to get rid of the villains by pitting them against Batman, and take the fatigued Batman last. Michael Lane Richmond Copy Bat Ronin Marvel DC cross.png|In the wake of Joker's death, Lonnie and Scarecrow is able to get all of Batman rogues to combine forces, which includes rich backers such as Penquin and Great White Shark, among others, so they can fun a full-scale army, and afford Lonnie the ability to maker his own "Batsuit" Charise Carnes is the Arkham Co-Knight Masterless Arkhamverse.jpg|Lonnie is joined by Charise Carnes, the Arkham Co-Knight (Not official name). She is the mastermind of the entire Arkham Knight protocol. She wants to rid Gotham of both Batman (Meaning the whole Bat Family) and his rogues, whereas Lonnie is more interested in besting his former idol. Charise will most likely have ties to the League of Shadows Other Villains 'TO BE ADDED''' Jokerz Jared Browne aka Jared Charisma E-15.JPG|Jared Browne is sort of the Joker posterboy in the wake of the OG Joker's death, he's roughly the same build, style, and overall, he's has a little of all of Joker's aspects, while the others have exaggerated aspects of one or two. Roland Desmond the Joker Goliath E-15.JPG|Roland Desmond is a Blockbuster reference, and a former champion boxer known as the Gotham Goliath. Joker's Titan enhanced blood, changed Desmond, increasing his size, strength, and changed him into a an exceedingly violent monster. He posses Joker's sadistic desire to kill and maime people, finding it hilarious, but he is not as bright as Joker, nor is he as interested in Batman. Christina Bell or perhaps Felicity Smoak E-15.JPG|Who was Christina Bell in Arkham Knight may become Felicity Smoak in the Masterless Arkhamverse (Which hurts me a little to say). She posseses Joker's technological savvy, Obsession with Batman (However in her case it's with every member of the Batman family, including Batgirl). Henry Adams as the Jokermind MasterJoker E-15.JPG|Henry Adams is the Jokermind (Or Mastermind Joker). He is almost undiluted Joker, except he lacks the sense of humor Joker had (in fact he rarely ever laughs), but his masterful understanding of Joker's original vision for chaos, and how Batman figures into this vision make Adams an invaluable Joker. Where Will it Go? Well that's simple. I'm going to make Earth-15 my modified Arkhamverse, and take all that Earth-15 needed to be and putting in the new and Masterless Earth-53. Spinoffs Superman? Superman Game spinoff inspiration Masterless Arkhamverse.jpg|I was inspired by this image, which led to many thinking that Rocksteady is developing a Superman game, into adding other heroes into the Arkhamverse. Justice League Bruce Wayne the World's Greatest Caped Crusading Dark Knight Detective.png|Batman is a founding (part-time) member of the Justice League. Kal-El Superman disguise 15.png|Kal-El is a Kryptonian who has lived on Earth since he was a newborn. He grew up to become Superman, and a founding member of the Justice League. Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman AE53.png|Wonder Woman became a founding member of the Justice League after the Atlantean Invasion. Cyborg Masterless Arkhamverse JL.png|Victor Stone is an Agent of Checkmate, a clandestine agency devoted to protecting humanity from all threats, which may include superheroes. Sasha Bordeaux Captain Wonder Woman Masterless G&M and AE-15.jpg|Sasha Bordeaux is also an agent of Checkmate, and a subject of the same program as Deathstroke, making her a super soldier. Flash-(Earth-6203).png|Barry Allen is a metahuman speedster, Batman fanboy, and the final member of the Justice League. Arkham Legacy This modified Arkhamverse leads into a sequel currently unhinted at in the Arkham mythos, the Arkham Legacy. Category:Blog posts Category:Created by RoninTheMasterless Category:RoninTheMasterless' Off My Mind Blogs